21 Comments

Thanks for the Police Squad reminder. One of those show that you were amazed even got on the air in the network times. Appreciate this series! I think I put all of mine in the first thread but will add if more come to mind.

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Spoon! I love The Tick. The best version is still the cartoon

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Police Squad is available on DVD for $11, if people want to take a flyer on it: https://www.ccvideo.com/police-squad-complete-series-police-squad-the-complete-series/097360475142

That's less than $2 per episode, and well worth it just for the faux freeze-frames where the actors in the foreground freeze and the background is full of action.

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Oh, man. Police Squad. I don’t think I ever watched it but know of it. The ridiculous humor is perfect for me. I really liked Lights Out and was bummed when it didn’t get a second season. The tv gods can be spiteful.

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Well the gambling was the most fascinating part! And I didn't even mean as part of the show, but publicity statements. They just folded.

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Sitting here in front of a roaring campfire with The Sausage on my lap contemplating grilling two inch thick USDA Prime NY Strips, I almost threw my iPhone that is amazingly getting 5G in the mountains in the fire at the mention of John From Cincinnati above.

I think I'll go get the coals started now...

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Loved this whole series and man did you make my day reminding me of lights out. Adored that show, was totally crushed it didn't continue

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Yeah, I know the writers were super bummed and of course McCallany and co. There were a lot of early FX series that I wish had kept going. Thanks for the appreciation of the one and done series!

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What another remarkable list. I'm so glad you included "The Ben Stiller Show." It briefly filled the void left in my heart after SCTV ended. I still laugh today whenever I think of Odenkirk as Kevin Costner in the promo for "Jazzercize with Wolves." Thanks for this series of recommendations.

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You're welcome! I interviewed Odenkirk on stage in SF once and he had fond memories of just doing totally random shit for the show. They felt very free, a feeling that generates greatness for sure, but then of course it's now on this list. But he loved the time there and there are so many funny bits.

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I am glad David Milch wasn't shutout but I would've also included John From Cincinnati.

I hope you do a two and done also so The Loop and Reaper, both starring Bret Harrison, get some love.

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Been a while since I thought about Reaper. Great show

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I really liked both Reaper and The Loop. I think I have some Reaper swag somewhere, or did. Not a huge fan of JFC, mostly because it spelled the end of "Deadwood" and I couldn't quite get past that and moved into the surfer spirituality vibe.

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Wish I'd said "although" instead of "but".

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Luck was so incredible and I was incredibly pissed when they shut it down.

I felt that actually, they could further highlight animal safety with the controversy. If you ever worked with large farm animals, then you know how hard it is to keep them healthy and safe on the most conscientious of farms. Most people are really ignorant of this. It is a 24 hour job.

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I don't disagree but it was clear that Milch didn't want any part of a "this is bad for horses" narrative. He was a longtime gambler and really wanted to play up that side of it. I don't think the show would have ever used the horse deaths (there and other places) to make any kind of statement. HBO probably knew that as well.

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So many faves among those you mention. Special shoutout to Lights Out, which had the perfect ending: it would have worked if there was a Season Two, but it couldn't be beat as a series finale.

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It absolutely had a great ending. Would have loved to see the fallout after the fight, for sure. I'm pretty sure they were leaning that direction. McCallany was always super nice to me after that story came out and said his mom loved it and wanted to frame it. Ha.

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Yes, ever since, I've made it a point to say good things about him on social media, which he appreciates. He is also proud of his mom, Julie Wilson, a cabaret singer.... he once recommended a movie she was in, This Could Be the Night, which I have never found.

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I liked “Luck” quite a bit! It was beautifully filmed and well-written, acted, directed. But it’s terrible what happened to the horses and I’m glad they shut down production if they couldn’t ensure the animal performers’ health and safety

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It was a series that was trending great and had tons of potential, but I also think where they were filming it there were separate horse issues as well, unrelated to the project, and horse racing in general right about that time was getting a lot of negative headlines. So that doomed it.

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